Flash-grenades & tear-gas: 500 arrested at Occupy Oakland

Police in Oakland, California, have used tear-gas and flash-grenades as a 2,000-strong Occupy Oakland march turned violent, with some protesters claiming that rubber bullets were also fired into the crowd. At least 500(update>>) people were arrested.

The demonstrators had attempted to take over vacant buildings to use as their headquarters, they also broke into City Hall and tried to occupy a YMCA. Police spokesman Jeff Thomason told media most of the arrests came around 8 pm local time. Police took many protesters into custody as they marched through the city's downtown area, with some entering a YMCA building.

Officials say, at one point protesters began tearing down perimeter fences around the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, as some attacked police officers, throwing rocks, bottles and other objects. Police declared an unlawful assembly and used force, according to the Oakland Tribune newspaper.

While police were taking people into custody near the YMCA, about 100 officers surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building for protesters who had broken in. Inside the building, protesters burned flags, broke into an electrical box and damaged several art structures, according to Oakland Mayor Jean Quan.

“The City of Oakland welcomes peaceful forms of assembly and freedom of speech, but acts of violence, property destruction and overnight lodging will not be tolerated,” the press release by city officials stated. “The Oakland Police Department is also committed to facilitating peaceful forms of expression while protecting personal safety and property through ethical and constitutional policing.”

At the moment, the Occupy crowd in the city’s central square is being monitored by dozens of police officers.

Oakland has seen one of America’s largest and most vocal Occupy protests, with thousands of people attending since the demos started in October. Some 300 people have been arrested since then. The Occupy Wall Street movement started in September in New York and claims to represent the 99 per cent of Americans, who suffer from corporate greed and economic injustice.

Occupy Oakland demonstrators confront a line of police officers during a demonstration in attempt to occupy a vacant building near Laney College in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)

Occupy Oakland demonstrators shield themselves during a confrontation with the police near the Oakland Museum of California in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)

An masked Occupy Oakland demonstrator walks in a cloud of smoke from smoke grenades during an attempt to occupy the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)

Members of the Oakland Police Department arrest an Occupy Oakland demonstrator during a confrontation in Downtown Oakland, California January 28, 2012 (Reuters / Stephen Lam)

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UPDATE: 30-1-2012

Riot police in the US city of Oakland have fired smoke and teargas canisters at anti-corporatism activists, arresting at least 500 people.

The 'unprecedented number of arrests,' as the local police described the apprehensions on Sunday, were made over the past two days as the Occupy Oakland demonstrators displayed resilience to keep the protest action alive.

Protesters on Saturday attempted to take the Henry Kaiser Convention Center's building in the city's downtown area, but were stopped by the police. The security forces reported 300 arrests during the day.

The number of those arrested grew to nearly 500 as the protesters then aimed to take over the YMCA's building before storming the City Hall on early Sunday.

“If the cops are willing to defend property over people, I think it shows where the city's priorities are,” said Carla Orendorff, one of the protesters, at the rally.

They had also warned the city authorities against any move aimed at stopping them, saying they would retaliate by shutting down Oakland's port and also by indefinitely closing the airport and the City Hall.

The protest campaign owes its inspiration to the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, which began when a group of demonstrators gathered in New York's financial district on September 17 to protest, among other things, against the excessive influence of big corporations on the US policies and the high-level corruption in the country.

According to the website occupyarrests.com, with the exception of the latest arrests, at least 6,319 Occupy protesters have been apprehended since the emergence of the movement. 

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